Study Guide Questions
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
The Prologue:
1. What is the setting of the drama?
2. According to the prologue, how long will the play last?
3. What are some adjectives used that suggest the play’s atmosphere?
4. Will this play be a tragedy or a comedy?
Act I
Scene i
1. Benvolio is the peacemaker in the play. His name comes from the Latin words “bene,” which means “good,”
and “volo,” which means “I wish.” Find a line that shows Benvolio’s personality.
2. How is Tybalt’s personality different from Benvolio’s? Find a line that suggests he wants the feud between the
families to continue.
3. Who is Prince Escalus? What lines indicate his feelings about the feuding?
4. Benvolio and the Montagues are concerned about Romeo. Explain why.
5. What information is Benvolio able to get from Romeo?
6. Find lines that show that Romeo is a romantic.
7. What advice does Benvolio give Romeo? What is Romeo’s reaction?
8. What kind of friend is Benvolio? How do you know?
Scene ii
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6.
How does Lord Capulet feel about the feud at this time of his life?
Why has Paris come to see Lord Capulet?
How old is Juliet?
What is Capulet’s reply to Paris?
Why does Benvolio want Romeo to attend Capulet’s party?
Why does Romeo agree to go?
Scene iii
1. What happened to Nurse’s daughter?
2. What purpose do Nurse’s ramblings about Juliet serve?
3. How does Juliet feel about getting married?
4. Would it be a compliment to be called “a man of wax”?
Scene iv
1. Find a line that describes Romeo’s mood as he and his friends go to the party. What device is Shakespeare
using when he compares “sole” to “soul”?
2. What does Mercutio think of dreams? Do you agree?
3. Reread lines 106-113. What technique is being used here? Paraphrase the speech.
4. From Romeo’s speech, do you think Elizabethans believed that people had control over their lives or that fate
had things all planned out?
Scene v
1. What lines indicate that Romeo was not really in love with Rosaline?
2. Tybalt’s anger at the presence of a Montague brings out the hot-tempered nature of his character. Give the line
that reveals what action he would like to take.
3. What does Lord Capulet’s acceptance of Romeo’s presence tell you about him?
4. What kind of reputation does Romeo have?
5. Juliet does not admit to Nurse that she has fallen in love with Romeo. Why do you think this is so? Would she
be more likely to tell Nurse or her own mother of her feelings for Romeo?
6. Explain the lines “go ask his name. If he be married,/My grave is like to be my marriage bed.”
7. What problems might be ahead for Romeo and Juliet?
Act II
Scene i
1. What is the purpose of this brief scene?
2. Do Romeo’s friends know that Romeo has fallen in love with Juliet? How do you know?
Scene ii
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According to Romeo, why is the moon “sick and pale with grief”?
How do Romeo and Juliet feel about their respective last names?
Why is Romeo afraid to tell Juliet how he feels?
Cite lines that show Juliet is less impulsive that Romeo?
Why doesn’t Juliet want Romeo to swear by the moon?
Who brings up the idea of marriage?
Scene iii
1. Cite the lines that show how Friar Lawrence regards plants.
2. Why does Friar Lawrence think Romeo has “sinned”?
3. Explain what Friar Lawrence meant by, “Young men’s love then lies/Not truly in their hearts but in their
eyes.” Do you agree?
4. Why does Friar Lawrence agree to marry Romeo and Juliet? Cite the lines.
5. What advice does the Friar give Romeo at the end of the scene? Does Romeo seem likely to take his friend’s
advice?
Scene iv
1. How do you know that Tybalt is still angry?
2. Romeo does not tell his friends about Juliet. What does this silence reveal about him?
3. Why does Shakespeare include this humorous scene with Nurse?
4. What instructions does Romeo give Nurse?
5. Can Nurse be trusted not to tell Juliet’s parents? Should she tell them?
Scene v
1. Why is Juliet worried and frustrated at the beginning of this scene?
2. When Nurse arrives, how does she act?
3. How does Nurse seem to feel about the marriage?
Scene vi
1. Cite a line that expresses a feeling of foreboding?
2. What advice does the Friar give Romeo about love? Cite the lines.
3. How soon after meeting one another have Romeo and Juliet married?
Act III
Scene i
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10.
Who is the first to mention the possibility of a fight?
Why does Benvolio urge Tybalt and Mercutio to take their fight off the streets?
How does Romeo act when he and Tybalt first meet? Why?
Why does Romeo’s behavior toward Tybalt anger Mercutio?
How is Mercutio stabbed?
To the very end, Mercutio retains his wit. Give an example of a pun in the lines surrounding his death?
Why does Romeo decide to fight Tybalt?
Why doesn’t Prince Escalus have Romeo executed?
What line reveals Prince Escalus’ decision about what will happen to Romeo?
The climax of the play occurs when there is a sudden change in the protagonist’s situation. Why is this scene
the turning point of the drama?
11. Tybalt was Juliet’s cousin. Do you think that she will blame Romeo for killing him?
Scene ii
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At first, who does Juliet think has died?
When Juliet discovers that Romeo killed Tybalt, what is her first reaction?
What is Nurse’s opinion of men in general?
Once the shock is over, what does Juliet realize?
What one word is more awful to Juliet than the thought of her whole family being killed?
In light of what happens, what does Juliet plan to do?
What symbol of her love does Juliet send Romeo?
Where is Romeo hiding?
Scene iii
1. Would Romeo prefer death to exile? How do you know?
2. What effect does Romeo’s reaction to the Prince’s decree have on Friar Lawrence?
3. What news does Nurse bring?
4. What does Romeo fear Juliet feels?
5. What does Friar Lawrence tell Romeo he should be happy about?
6. What does the Friar tell Romeo he should do?
7. What does Nurse give Romeo that “revives his comfort”?
Scene iv and v
1. What plans does Lord Capulet make for Thursday?
2. How is the answer to question #1 an example of dramatic irony?
3. With what hope does Romeo leave Juliet?
4. In what ways does Juliet mislead her mother?
5. Is Juliet’s response to her mother’s news in keeping with her character and the way she normally acts toward
her parents?
6. What causes Lord Capulet to lose his temper?
7. Does Nurse understand Juliet’s grief over Romeo’s banishment and her determination not to marry Paris?
8. Paraphrase Juliet’s last speech in this scene.
Act IV
Scene i
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Is there anything actually wrong with Paris?
What does Paris try to get Juliet to say that she refuses to say?
What solution to the problem does the Friar offer Juliet?
Is Juliet fearful of taking the potion?
How long will the effects of the potion last?
Scene ii
1. How does Juliet please Lord Capulet in this scene?
2. What does Lord Capulet’s reaction to Juliet’s apology tell you about him?
Scene iii
1. How does Juliet rid herself of Nurse and her mother?
2. If the potion does not work, what will Juliet do?
3. What doubts does Juliet have about Friar Lawrence?
4. Does Juliet ever doubt that Romeo will come for her?
5. What other fears does Juliet have?
Scene iv and v
1. Identify the technique used once again in these scenes.
2. Who discovers Juliet’s body?
3. Does Lord Capulet seem to feel badly about his treatment of Juliet, or blame himself in anyway for her death?
4. Does Friar Lawrence comfort the mourners?
Act V
Scene i
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3.
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5.
What is Romeo’s mood before he receives the news about Juliet?
What happens in this scene that Friar Lawrence didn’t consider?
What lines tell you that Romeo is no longer willing to accept fate as the master of his life?
Although it is illegal to sell poison in Mantua, Romeo is able to convince the apothecary to make the sale-why?
Why does Romeo call the poison a “cordial”?
Scene ii and iii
1. Why is Paris at the Capulet vault?
2. Why does Balthasar hide near the tomb even though Romeo told him to go away?
3. Why does Paris want Romeo to die?
4. Does Romeo want to kill Paris?
5. What does Romeo say to Tybalt?
6. What does Romeo notice about Juliet that might have made him wonder if she’s really dead?
7. What are Romeo’s dying words?
8. When Friar Lawrence finds Romeo and Paris dead, what plan does he devise for Juliet? Why didn’t he want
her to simply return to her parents?
9. How does Juliet get the opportunity to kill herself with the Friar there?
10. Who else is a victim of this tragedy?
11. How is the chain of events finally explained to the families and to the Prince?
12. What does Prince Escalus mean in the lines “See what a scourge is laid upon your hate/That heaven finds
means to kill your joys with love!” How is he stating the irony of the situation?
13. Does Prince Escalus blame himself?
14. What does Montague offer to do as a token of friendship?